Emily L. Mahoney and Charles T. Clark Special to The Republic | azcentral.com
Published 7:00 am MT June 2017/Updated 9:40 am MT June 16th 2017
Patricia Miller’s family home was seized a decade after her father’s death because of $808 in unpaid property taxes. Ryan Santistevan/Special for The Republic.
It was the home where Devoe Poleeson, the proud family cook and grill master, taught his daughter how to fry eggs. It was the home where he set the oven timer to awaken the kids for school before he left for work. And it was the family gathering place — for holiday parties, wedding receptions and even wakes — during the four decades he lived in the modest west Phoenix home.
The mortgage had long since been paid off. But in 2010, a decade after Poleeson’s death, an investor from Utah legally seized the home because a mere $808 in property taxes had gone unpaid.
“It was tragic for us, for our family, because … we grew up in that house and all of our memories are there,” said Patricia Miller, Poleeson’s daughter.
“It was a loss that we just couldn’t really do anything about. There just wasn’t enough money from the insurance he had left to cover everything.”
